LEO CULLEN SAYS Leinster’s desire for silverware brought about the most intense and aggressive performance of their season as they beat Ulster 30-18 to move into the Guinness Pro12 final.

The northern province were competitive at the RDS but ultimately could not hold Leinster’s intelligent and ferocious efforts at bay.

Leinster’s hunger for silverware remains. Source: Dan Sheridan/INPHO

Cullen’s men had a hugely disappointing European campaign this season and have faced criticism despite finishing top of the Pro12 regular season table, but delivered an utterly convincing performance against Ulster.

“I think it was important for us just to go back to what we can do, which is navigate our way through 22 rounds of the Pro12 to get ourselves into the semis, ideally a home semi,” said Cullen after Leinster’s three-try victory.

“We had to use a lot of players to get to this point, 56 to be exact, and even in the course of that there’s a lot of ups and downs when you’re trying to stay the course. Everyone’s worked incredibly hard to get us to this point, and it’s not just the players – everyone in the back room making sure players are able to peak at the right stage of the season.

“We are now where we are. Guys acquitted themselves well over the last couple of weeks and they have been able to produce a performance of really good intensity. As a result, we were able to get a very positive outcome.”

Cullen didn’t go so far as to state himself that it was Leinster’s best performance of the season, but he did point out that it was driven by the sheer ambition of Johnny Sexton, Jamie Heaslip and the rest of his playing group.

“It’s good because it’s a semi-final,” said Cullen of the display. “You just want to do enough to win the game really, get yourselves in good shape. We need to recover up now and focus on the next challenge because there’s no point in winning a semi and losing a final.